Fri December 21, 2012

Northwesteners Pause To Remember Sandy Hook Victims

SALEM, Ore. – One week after 26 people were shot and killed at a Connecticut elementary school, Northwesterners paused to remember the victims. The Governors of Oregon, Washington and Idaho asked their citizens to observe a moment of silence Friday morning. Afterward, many churches rang their bells 26 times to honor those who died.

These bells rang out at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Salem. Shawn Murray stood on the sidewalk and listened silently.

"I just felt like I just needed to be here. Just very touching,"he said. "And it just kind of makes me think about my own kids. This could happen anywhere."

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber said his state's moment of silence would also honor the victims of the December 11 shooting at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall. A gunman killed two people and injured one other before turning the gun on himself. The teenager wounded in the attack was released from the hospital earlier this week.